The crypto market lost altitude on Tuesday, slipping 2% to about $3.9 trillion as Bitcoin fell toward $112,000 and erased the week’s gains, with roughly $1.7 billion in liquidations accelerating the sell-off as leveraged positions unwound.
Bitcoin was last down about 1.8% near $112,561, while Ethereum fell 3.3% to $41,197, BNB dropped 4% to $991.3, and Solana slid 6.2% to $219.03.
In the past 24 hours, about $1.7b of mostly long positions were wiped out, the largest long liquidation event this year, Coinglass said.
Macro Boost Meets Micro Headwinds, FTX Cash Returns And Sentiment Sours
Flows into crypto funds remained a bright spot last week. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $556m in net inflows, lifting total net assets to $29.6b, according to SoSoValue. Over the same period, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $886.6m, taking total net assets to $152.31b.
GM!
The biggest long liquidation so far this year.
24h long liquidation:$1.62B
Total liquidation in the past 24 hours: $1.70B.https://t.co/C47AgBCcTk pic.twitter.com/IeIiCgz0zL— CoinGlass (@coinglass_com) September 22, 2025
Macro signals set the stage. The Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points last week to a target range of 4.00% to 4.25%, and signaled two more possible cuts this year. That first move initially buoyed altcoins, which rallied into the weekend.
Momentum faded on Monday. Sentiment cooled shortly after the defunct crypto exchange FTX said it will begin its third distribution on Sept. 30, returning about $1.6b to holders of allowed claims as part of its Chapter 11 process.
Social gauges turned more cautious. Analysts at Santiment noted on Sunday that more traders are now “betting that the price of Bitcoin will go down, as opposed to betting that Bitcoin’s price will go up,” and said they were seeing a “much more negative narrative forming across social media.”
Liquidation Spike Signals Possible Local Low As Funding Turns Negative
Positioning also shifted. 10X Research said that sharp liquidation spikes often mark local lows and can raise the odds of a rebound, a view supported by negative funding rates that show faster traders are net short. The note urged traders to weigh positioning, technical signals and how the market is priced into October before buying dips.
Industry executives framed the sell-off as a leverage flush rather than a fundamental break.
Maja Vujinovic, CEO and co-founder of Digital Assets at FG Nexus, said, “Roughly $1.7B in liquidations reflects excess leverage, not failing fundamentals. Overheated funding post-Fed left traders exposed; once Bitcoin rolled over, forced unwinds hit ETH and alt-books hard.”
“But history shows that these ‘leverage washes’ often mark a healthier base. With spot demand, ETF flows, and stablecoin rails intact, we’re more likely heading into consolidation than capitulation and that typically precedes the next sustained leg higher,” she added.
Liquidations Drive ‘Margin Call Avalanche,’ Traders See Healthy Reset
Traders echoed that view on market structure. Doug Colkitt, initial contributor to Fogo, said, “This is crypto’s version of a margin call avalanche. When Bitcoin sneezes, the entire market catches leverage flu. $1.7B in liquidations isn’t fundamentals breaking—it’s over-levered traders getting rinsed. Leverage is always highest at the top, and when prices roll over, the cascade feeds on itself.”
“These flushes are brutal, but they’re also healthy. They reset leverage, shake out weak hands, and clear the runway for the next leg. If you’ve been around crypto long enough, then you already know the cold hard truth: liquidations are the feature, not the bug,” he said.
Others pointed to Bitcoin’s relative resilience. Mike Maloney, CEO at Incyt, said, “The $1B+ liquidation wave was driven by long liquidations. The exuberance following an ATH, the anemic Fed cut, and a mismatch of reporting and risk creates a breakdown. The real capture here is that BTC is still the king of crypto markets: despite weathering the worst liquidation, BTC decline and volatility are a fraction of other assets. This suggests to me that the market will bounce up strongly on the back of BTC’s liquidity.”
As September draws to a close, traders are watching funding, ETF flows, and the pace of redemptions from bankruptcy estates. For now, the market has reset leverage and attention turns to whether dip buyers step in ahead of October.
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